Draw hook control arrangement



y 1968 J. MULLER 3,384,129

DRAW HOOK CONTROL ARRANGEMENT Filed May 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig-1Fig.- 2

11 I 9 13 7' g 6' 2 I In renal- /M M L'flr lag-And Ari r- K'J-r- May 21,1968 J. MULLER DRAW HOOK CONTROL ARRANGEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed May11, 1966 United States Patent 3,384,129 DRAW HOOK CONTROL ARRANGEMENTJakob Muller, Frick, Aargau, Switzerland Filed May 11, 1966, Ser. No.549,273 Claims priority, application Switzerland, May 13, 1965, 6,692/65 Claims. (Cl. 139-138) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Freely turnable drawhooks on the runs of an endless shuttle chain are alternately coupledwith a reciprocating knife which causes movement of the draw hooks to anoperative position located in the path of the knife when arriving at theend positions of the reciprocating motion.

The present invention relates to a control arrangement for a loom, andmore particularly to an apparatus controlling the drive of shuttles inmulti-shuttle band looms. It is known to reciprocate a so-called knifealong a straight path, and to selectively move endless carrier chainsinto the plane of the reciprocating knife so that the same engages drawhooks on the selected carrier chain to move the same, and thereby a rackbar connected thereto which, through a suitable gear transmission,operates a row of shuttles.

According to one prior art construction, the knife is rigidly mounted ona slide, and the draw hooks are shifted into the path of movement ofportions of the knife by lugs on the knife box, so that during thereciprocating movement of the knife, one or the other draw hook mountedon the carrier chain is taken along with the same.

In another prior art construction, a knife is pivotally mounted on areciprocating slide, and is angularly displaced to engage one or theother draw hook of a pair of draw hooks which are rigidly secured to tworuns of the carrier chains.

The constructions according to the prior art have the disadvantage thatthe adjustment of the control means which cause the displacement of thedraw hooks or of the knife, respectively, is difficult and complicatedso that an engagement between the knife and the draw hooks is notassured, which causes omission of a pick, or operation of the wrong drawhook.

It is one object of the invention to improve control arrangements forlooms employing a reciprocating knife and draw hooks for controlling theshuttle, and to provide a simple control arrangement in which movabledraw hooks are controlled by the knife, or by control means connected tothe knife.

With this object in view, the present invention relates to a controlarrangement for a loom particularly for a band loom of the typeemploying a reciprocating knife, and draw hooks mounted on carriermeans, such as an endless Coulier chain, and in which the movement ofthe shuttles is controlled by the Coulier chain over a transmission.

One embodiment of the invention comprises knife means driven toreciprocate along a path between two end positions; two carrier means,such as parallel runs of an endless Coulier chain, connected forsimultaneous reciprocating movement in opposite direction along the pathof the knife means; two draw hooks respectively mounted on the twocarrier means for movement with the same along the path of the knifemeans between two end positions, and for movement relative to the samebetween an inoperative position, and an operative position located inthe path of movement of the knife means; and control means operable bythe knife means in one end position of the same to move one draw hook,which is in one of the end'positions thereof, to the operative positionin which it is engaged by the knife means. The engaged draw hook ismoved by the knife means with the respective carrier means in onedirection along the path to the other end position thereof, while theother draw hook moves in the opposite direction with the other carriermeans. When the knife means moves out of the other end position in theopposite direction, the first mentioned draw hook is engaged and movedto the inoperative position by the control means, and particularly by aprojecting portion of the knife means.

In one embodiment of the invention, the control means includespring-loaded levers mounted on the knife means and being actuated bystationary stops to move the respective draw hook to the operativeposition in which it is engaged and taken along together with thecarrier means.

In another embodiment of the invention, the knife means has projectingportions directly engaging the draw hooks, or control arms of the samefor shifting the draw hooks between the inoperative and the operativepositions. Resilient catch means hold the draw hooks in either position,and yield when the draw hooks are displaced.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of the inventionin a position in which the knife means has arrived in an end position,and starts the movement toward the other end position;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in anotherposition in which the knife means has arrived in the other end position;and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary schematic view illustrating another embodimentof the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, a knife 1 has a pair of coupling portions2, 2', and is reciprocated in the direction of the arrow X between thetwo end positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by conventional drive means,not shown. A slide rigidly supporting knife 1 may be guided along asuitable guideway, not shown.

Conventional Coulier apparatus 3 is provided, and includes chain drums5, 5, and a plurality of endless chains, each of which has two runs 4,4'. One chain 4, 4' is located in the plane in which knife 1reciprocates, and each of the several chains can be raised in a knownmanner to a position located at the level of the plane in which knife 1reciprocates, one chain 4, 4 being shown in this position.

The runs 4, 4 of each endless chain constitute carrier means for twodraw hooks 6, 6' which are respectively mounted on chain 4, 4 on pivots7, 7 and are freely tnrnable between the inoperative position shown fordraw hook 6 in the upper portion of FIG. 1 and for draw hook 6' in thelower portion of FIG. 2, and an operative position shown for draw hook6' in the lower portion of FIG. 1 and for draw hook 6 in the upperportion of FIG. 2. Stops 14 mounted on carrier portion 4, and stops 14mounted on carrier portion 4' stop the respective draw hooks in theinoperative and operative positions.

Catch means including a catch 16 or 16', and a spring 17 or '17 are alsomounted on carrier portions 4, 4 and cooperate with draw hooks 6 and 6',respectively, to arrest the same either in the operative position or inthe inoperative position. Upon displacement of the draw hooks, catchmeans 16, 17 resiliently yield.

Control means are provided for shifting the draw hooks between theinoperative and operative positions. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2,the control means include actuating means in the form of a pair ofdouble armedangular levers 9, 9 mounted on a pair of pivots 8, 8 onknife 1 and having arms 12, 12 connected by a spring 10 which urgeslevers 9, 9 to an inoperative position abutting stops 11, 11'.Stationary stops 15, 15 cooperate with levers 9, 9' when knife 1 arrivesin the end position shown in FIG. 2 to turn levers 9-, 9' in oppositedirections against the action of spring 16 to operative positions inwhich arms 12, 12' are located in the region of the carrier portions 4,4' so that one arm, shown to be arm 12 in FIG. 2, engages a projectingcontrol arm 13 for turning the respective draw hook 6 to the operativeposition in which its hook portion is located opposite the engaging edge2 of knife 1. If the other draw hook 6' is located in the proximity ofknife 1 in the end position of the same shown in FIG. 2, its control arm13 is engaged by arm 12' of lever 9' so that draw hook 6' is shifted tothe actuated position located in the region of the engaging edge 2 ofknife 1.

Assuming that a row of shuttles which is controlled by the chain 4, 4'located in the plane of knife 1, is to be picked, draw hook 6 is in oneend position, draw hook 6' is in another end position, and knife 1 is inthe proximity of draw hook 6'. However, it is also possible that drawhook 6 is located in the proximity of knife 1, and draw hook 6 islocated in the other end position.

In the position shown in FIG. 1, knife 1 has moved in one reciprocatingstroke toward chain drum 5' while being coupled with draw hook 2' in itsoperative position so that draw hook 2' and carrier chain portion 4'have also moved toward chain drum 5' to the illustrated end position.

Knife 1 is now driven to start its reciprocating stroke in the oppositedirection toward chain drum 5, and at the beginning of this stroke, theprojecting portion 18' engages the end of draw hook 6' and shifts thesame in counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 1 to theinoperative position shown in FIG. 2 in which catch means 16', 17'resiliently arrests the inoperative draw hook 6'.

If draw hook 6 would have been located in the proximity of knife 1,instead of draw hook 6', it would have been shifted in the same mannerby projecting portion 18 to the inoperative position.

Referring again to the drawing, knife 1 moves toward the other endposition, and when arriving in the same, arms of levers 9, 5" areengaged by stationary control stop means 15, 15 and levers 9, 9' areturned against the action of spring 10 to an actuated position in whicharm 12 engages arm 13 of draw hook 6 to turn the same from theinoperative position shown in FIG. 1 to the operative position shown inFIG. 2 in which the hook is located opposite the engaging portion 2 ofknife 1 and located in the path of movement of the knife. Thecounterclockwise movement of draw hook 6 is indicated by the arrow y.

Knife 1 is now driven to make its next stroke toward chain drum 5', andsince draw hook 6 is located in the path of movement of knife 1, it isengaged by the same and carried along, drawing the left carrier chainportion 4 in the direction of the lower head of arrow x, while the othercarrier chain portion 4' moves in the opposite direction together withdraw hook 6', stops 14' and arresting catch 16', 17'.

When knife 1 arrives in its end position in the proximity .of chain drum5, draw hook 6 is in the position in which draw hook 6' is shown in FIG.1, but of course located on the other side of knife 1. The movement ofcarrier chain portion 4 has carried draw hook 6 to a position located inthe proximity .of chain drum 5, as shown for draw hook 6 in the upperportion of FIG. 1, but of course located on the other side of the knife.

When knife 1 is now moved toward chain drum 5, its projecting portion 18shifts draw hook 6 from its operative 4 position to its inoperativeposition, as described with reference to draw hook 6' in the positionshown in FIG. 1.

- It will be seen that arms 13,13, levers 9' and control stops 15, 15'are control means actuated by the knife 1 and operable to move the drawhooks between the inoperative and operative positions. Chain portions 4,4 constitute carriers for the draw hooks moving simultaneously inopposite directions for moving the draw hooks between two end positions.During the stroke of knife 1 from the end position shown in FIG. 2 tothe end position shown in FIG. 1, a draw hook is engaged by the knife,and both draw hooks move from the initial end positions to the other endpositions together with the respective chain 4, 4' which actuates over arack bar and gears, not shown, the respective row of shuttles to performa pick.

When knife 1 moves from the end position shown in FIG. 1 to the endposition shown in FIG. 2, the draw hooks are in the inoperativeposition, and the chain 4, 4 is not moved so that no motion istransmitted to the row of shuttles.

The modified embodiment of FIG. 3 operates in substantially the samemanner as described with reference to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.Two draw hooks 6, 6 are mounted on pivot pins 7 carried by carrier chainportions 4, 4', respectively, and are turnable between an operative andan inoperative position defined by the stops 14 or 14. However, levers9, 9' and spring 10 are omitted. The control arms 13, 13' of draw hooks6, 6', of which only draw hook 6 is shown in "FIG. 3, define an acuteangle with the main portion of the draw hook, as compared with theobtuse angle in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. The draw hooks areshifted between inoperative and operative positions, by the projectingportions 18, 18', or by a pair of lugs 19, 19' cooperating with controlarms 13 or 13 of the draw hooks 6 or 6' in the ends positions of theknife.

When knife 1 arrives in the end position shown in FIG. 3, lug 19 engagesarm 13 and pivots draw hook 6 to the operative position in which thehook is located in the path of movement of the engaging portion 2 ofknife 1 so that during the following stroke in the opposite direction,draw hook 6 is taken along together with carrier chain portion 4, whilethe other carrier chain portion 4' moves in the opposite direction andtransports the other draw hook into the proximity of chain wheel 5 whereit will be engaged next time knife 1 arrives again in the corespondingend position.

At the start of the movement of knife 1 from the end position in theproximity of chain drum 5' toward the other end position, projectingportion 18 of knife 1 engages arm 13' of draw hook 6 and turns the sameto its inoperative position so that knife 1 can move toward chain drum 5without actuating chain 4, 4'.

Due to the fact that the turning movement of the respective draw hook iseffected by control means directly or indirectly operated by the knife,the construction of the invention is considerably simplified as comparedwith prior art constructions serving the same purpose and usingspring-biassed draw hooks, and does not require any fine adjustment. Thedanger of a malfunction is practically eliminated due to the provisionof the resilient catch means which hold the freely turnable draw hooksin inoperative and operative positions, and due to the return of thedraw hooks to the inoperative positions by the knife itself and not bysprings, a reliable operation of the apparatus is assured.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofcontrol arrangements including a reciprocating knife and draw hooks on aCoulier chain differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in acontrol arrangement in which the draw hooks of a loom are directly orindirectly controlled by a reciprocating knife, it is not intended to belimited to the details shown, since various modifications and structuralchanges may -be made without departing in any way from the spirit of thepresent invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Draw hook control arrangement for a loom, comprising, in combination,knife means driven to reciprocate along a path between two endpositions; two carrier means connected for simultaneous reciprocatingmovement in opposite directions along said path; two draw hooksrespectively mounted on said two carrier means for movement with thesame along said path between two end positions, and for free movementrelative to the same between an inoperative position, and an operativeposition located in said path of movement of said knife means; andcontrol means operable by said knife means in one end position of saidknife means to move one draw hook which is in one of the end positionsthereof to said operative position to be engaged by and coupled to saidknife means so that the same moves said one draw hook with therespective carrier means in one direction along said path to the otherend position thereof while the other draw hook moves in the oppositedirection, said one draw hook being engaged and moved to saidinoperative position by said knife means when said knife means moves outof said other end position in said opposite direction.

2. Control arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said control meansinclude means mounted on said knife means for movement between aninoperative position, and an actuated position for moving said draw hookto said operative position, and include also stationary means located inthe proximity of said one end position for engaging and actuating saidlast-mentioned means to move to said actuated position when said knifemeans arrives in said one end position.

3. Control arrangement according to claim 2 and comprising resilientcatch means for holding said draw hooks in said inoperative andoperative positions, re-

spectively, and resiliently yielding upon movement of said draw hooksbetween said positions under the control of said knife means.

4. Control arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said carrier meansare located on opposite sides of said path of said knife means and areportions of an endless chain.

5. Control arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said control meansinclude lever means mounted on said knife means; and include alsostationary means located in the proximity of said one end position forengaging said lever means and for displacing the same to an actuatedposition to move said draw hook to said operative position.

6. Control arrangement according to claim 5 and ineluding spring meansfor returning said lever means from said actuated position to a normalposition.

7. Control arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said control meansinclude an arm on each of said draw hooks; and wherein said knife meanshas portions en gaging said arms in said end positions for moving saiddraw hooks between said inoperative and operative posi-' include alsostationary means located in the proximity of said one end position forengaging said levers in said inoperative position during movement ofsaid knife means into said one end position and for moving the same tosaid actuating positions, one of said levers in said actuating positionengaging said one draw hook in said inoperative position of the same andmoving the same to said operative position; a portion of said knifemeans engages said one draw hook when said knife means moves out of saidother end position in said opposite direction for moving said draw hookback to said inoperative position; and comp-rising resilient catch meansfor arresting said draw hooks in said inoperative position and in saidoperative position, respectively, and resiliently yielding upon movementof said draw hooks between said positions.

10. Control arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said control meansinclude control arms on said draw hooks, respectively, said control armsbeing respectively engaged by leading portions of said knife means inone of said end positions for moving the respective draw hook from saidinoperative position to said operative position, said draw hooks beingengaged by a trailing portion of said knife means in the region of theother end position so that said draw hooks are moved from said operativeposition to said inoperative position; and comprising resilient catchmeans for arresting said draw hooks in said inoperative and operativepositions, respectively, said catch means resiliently yielding uponmovement of said draw hooks between said inoperative and operativepositions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 595,417 12/1897 Stadler 139-1381,513,908 11/1924 Hulme 139-138 X FOREIGN PATENTS 100,453 10/ 1923Switzerland.

100,661 12/ 1898 Germany.

106,407 11/ 1899 Germany;

396,795 1/ 1966 Switzerland.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Acting Primary Examiner.

I. KEE CHI, Assistant Examiner.

